Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been talking tough about settlements in East Jerusalem and a US threat of military action over Iran's nuclear program. Have last week's midterm elections changed the diplomatic dynamic for President Obama? Also, Iraq's government impasse is broken, and the US national debt and public sacrifice.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been talking tough about settlements in East Jerusalem and a US threat of military action over Iran's nuclear program. Have last week's midterm elections changed the diplomatic dynamic for President Obama? Also, Iraq's government impasse is broken, and the co-chairs of President Obama’s bipartisan task force on reducing the debt has outlined potential actions nobody’s going to like.

Banner image: Israeli forces surround a stable in the Arab Issawiya village in east Jerusalem, which was built without a Jerusalem's municipally permit, on November, 11 2010 before procedures to demolish it. Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's party came in second in last spring's election, but after eight months of a dangerous impasse, Maliki will keep his job. Ned Parker reports from Baghdad for the Los Angeles Times.

"It's time to lay it out on the table and let the American people start to chew on it," says former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, who co-chairs President Obama's bipartisan commission on reducing the national debt. Among the proposals are deep cuts in domestic and military spending, an increase in the gas tax, elimination of tax breaks, lower Social Security benefits and an increased retirement age. Kevin Hall is national economics correspondent with McClatchy Newspapers.

After a harsh exchange with President Obama over settlements in East Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu met today with Hillary Clinton. Last night, the Israeli Prime Minister met with Eric Cantor, the new Republican Majority Leader, who will also be history's highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress. The issues include peace talks with the Palestinians and Iran's nuclear program, including the threat of military action. What clout do the Palestinians have? What's the impact of last week's US elections on Obama's diplomatic objectives?